Method of skinning meat



Jan. 3, 1950 w, WEBER 2,493,707

METHOD OF SKINNING MEAT Filed Oct. 20, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. g W/LL/flA l E wzzsza ATrOAA/Lr 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 w. F. WEBER METHOD OF SKINNING MEAT Jan, 3, 1950 Filed Oct. 20, 1944 1950 w. F. WEBER METHOD OF SKINNING MEAT 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 20, 1944 INVENTOR. W/AZ. U4 M E W655i Jan. 3, 1950 w, WEBER 2,493,707

METHOD OF SKINNING- MEAT Filed Oct. 20, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. W/LL/AM E M5552 l atented Jan. 3, 1950 UNITED STATES LOFFICE METHOD or SKINNING MEAT William F. Weber, Chicago, Ill., assignor, -to, v v Armmll' and p y, hicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application October 20, 1944, Serial No. 559,548-

the skin in hand skinning. Any meat removed along with the skin is wasted, and this is to be avoided if possible. Also, in hand skinningthe skins are frequently cut, making them unsuitable for tanning. 7

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of removing the skin from the meat pieces in a rapid, efficient mannerrand which can be effectively performed by machine operations rather than by hand cutting. It

further desired that the method be effective for removing the skin whole and clean of surface meat.

More specific features of the invention include the provision of a counter-balanced clamping device which normally remains open and suspended and which may be easily aflixed to a piece of skin by the operator. Another, feature is the provision of means for moving the meat pieces while.

permitting them to turn as the skin is removed. Another feature is the provision of means for turning the skinned pieces to permit their discharge from the machine after the skinning 4 Claims. (01. 17-45 operation. Many other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent as the detailed description proceeds.

One embodiment of the invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of the machine; Fig. 2 is an elevational side view of the machine; Fig. 3 is a detailed view of the clamp suspending device; Fig. 4 is a sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5

is an enlarged elevational view of the clamping device; Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan view of the device shown in Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is an enlarged sec-' tional view showing details of the hook and turning mechanism, the view being taken as indicated at line 1-1 of Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a detailed view showing the construction of the turning mechanism, the view being taken as indicated at line 8-8 of Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a view illustrating the operation of the machine and showing the clamping mechanism in a position holding a piece of meat with the meat piece in condition for forpiece 29 secured to standards "I0 and -I I.

otherv end'of shaft 30 is'similarly supported-on ward movement; Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig.

9 butshowing the meat being skinned, the skinbeing partly removed; and Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 9 and Fig. .10 but showing the meat piece after the skin has been removed and the pieces passing onwardly in the machine.

As illustrated, the improved machine includes a frame A in which is carried the conveyor B for moving the meat pieces forwardly, a clamping device C for holding the skin, and mechanism D for removingthe meat from theconveyor.

Ihe frame A may be of any construction which is adaptedfto suitablysupport the conveyor. In

theser'nbodiment illustrated the frame includes thelp'airs' of vertical standards II], II, I2 and I3; (Fig. 2); At the top on the right hand side is the angiemi which is securedas by welding to the right hand standards, and at the top on the left 1 hand side is the angle I5 which is secured as by weldingto'the left hand standards of pairs I0, iI, :I2 and I3." Extending between the standards I2 is a' cross-piece I6 (see Fig. 4) and a similar cross-piece extends between the'standards II.

Supporting members 11 and I8 are secured in spaced relation to the cross-piece I6, and on top of th'esesupporting members rests the rails 11 I9 and 20. 5 Similarrailsupporting structure is provided inconnection with the standards II.

The conveyorB includes a series of rectangular plates 2I,'which are hingedly connected through chain 22 to form anendless belt. The top of this belt rides on and along the'rails I9 and with thechain 22 in contact with the rails. The bottom" portion of the conveyor belt is maintainedin position by the arm members 23 which engagethe side rails 24 attached to the standards II and H. The topplates 25 and 26 secured to top anglesl 5' and I 4 respectively extend inwardly -over the top-of the conveyor belt and prevent distortion of-the'top conveyor surface.

At-the rear end of the conveyor is a pulley 21 having one end of its shaft 30 journaled in the,

end mounting 28 which is supported on the side The the other side of the machine;

At the forward end of the-"conveyor the pulley 3Izhas one endo'f its shaft 32 journaled in the mounting I45 supported'on the longitudinal piece I46..The piece I46 has its'en'cls attached to the vertical frame members I41 and I48 and is supported at its' center: by the standard I3. The other end;of shaft 32 is supported in a'similar way;:: t; I

Mounted on a table 33 (see Fig. 1), at the side of the machine, is a motor 34 and gear mechanism 35 which drives shaft 32 through pulley 31, chain 38 and pulley 39 on shaft 32; A wheel 40 is provided for adjusting the gear mechanism to cause the conveyor to move faster or more slowly according to the desires of the operator.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 4, there is secured to cross-bar l6 a'pair of vertical supports 4|. A similar pa h; of supports-disposed be;-

tween the standards H Secured-to the topof the supports 4| are the longitudinal guide rails 42 and 43 and secured to the bottoms of these supports are the longitudinal guide-rails 44 and 45; r V

Spaced along the surface or the conveyor at the desired intervals are hook members 46. These 7 members are disposed centrally of the conveyor and are each pivotally securgg t o gne of plateg 2},

' As seen in Fig. 4 and Fig. 7 a pair of spaced, curved hooks 41 are secured at their bottom positions with a block 48 which rides on top of the conveyorrsunface. A sleeve 51] secured; as. by. welding, to the. underside of:- plate; 2 l and. a stem 7 49; extends. within; sleeve; 511 through an aperture inthe plate 21;, and-hasa; rednced'topeextension 5.l.- which passesgthrough an. aperture. in block 48 and has its threaded; end engaged byv nut 53. At, thetlowert end. of: stem 49: is; a flattened extension 54; whichnextendshetween thev guide rails' 42 and. 45.2 when, passingafiorwardlyi with the. top tthe conveyor; and-between guide, rails 44: and

45 w r turningwith, the-bottom of the con-x T e flattened extensions: 54.- slid-el along andare. v su dedhy 91115 1 and 43tshiehat thehooksAfkara po nted; orwardly; asthma moreiorwardl-y alo hetop o heconyeror. In Order:- to turn these;

ook it permitmpreconvenient discharge onthe as" the jaws become completely closed. Links 14 .i and; each have their one end attached to the award AA-Ivli' end of the diverging portions 69 and I9, and

have their other ends engaged by the link 16.

" Link 15 in turn, 'i s connected with the chain 11.

Attached to jawBZ is the curved guard plate 7 LBBQ The outer surface of the guard plate I06 is flush with the end surface of the jaw 62. As seen' rnor'e' clearly in Fig 6, the guard plate I06 extends laterally beyond the jaws 6i and 62. The central portion oft guard 0%. is slotted as indicated at-LSJ; so that whe nth'e arms Blanch-68 are moved apart to open the jaws the arm 68 maymove'int'othe slot am. A lip guard I05 extends beneath the guard plate N and is secured at its top with the arr-n 68 This'lip guard I 05? effectively protectsthe slotted-portion l9! when the clamping device is closed-f 'Byproviding the guard means just described, the hook members 46-ar'e preventedf-rpm catching on the jaws of the clamping device astheyi'inove forwardly on the'conveyor just belowtheclampingmechanism.

meat ie es, tur in mefihanismiisrpliovidedi As"- shqwn inpthebrolgen out portionuofrEig. 1 and also.

7 nlfi ei 8.1 mil: jsororidediwitha urshapeqiporq 93155, and bcloweth stherailr 4am. provided with a r U shaped; pgrtion. "Ilhepin, 55; is SE1 ur oieort gnsylim ra ls 43,; and: 4.5.4 in the. s ign. sho niin; g; 8 a d; has its endsnm:

uid o a ov anal-be ow ails and; asine,

Eachtoi: stems 4.9 mil which xtend e r usfig ang 43 Whenthesepieces are 7 L 0Q: arfit ass neath Je ne it "@99 Heath rs pass fiorward aon thetop,

th convenes the rieancasfiflapproach the Eitgav g in t direction.

tion 0 t fi Bile- 5 and. iur her p iece rotates it i the.

qhaman ati nirl eir ae flattened xt ne,

is pe mi te wii encd: e tension now ta? hr u h. a q? bees u dsdyby the rails. 42,. and43. C

T e device for holding.. thgislsini inoludesraj enn fiflwhich ismor 5 and'Fig. 6. This de I early illustrated, in Fig.

ownlwardilyt at; an angle. tg l'akqfl ltaotinasurfaces 6'3 d; wh qh. com lementary: to; each other, the raised port ons-05 0114: surface fitting the" l-lllfi fi i 139 110 51 Of the. other surface; so ast0 ,QIQ de aneflicient grip on theskin; The sur Qi-iai bar, 51 will i ideiot the converQn-the:

, il-i i em llhoi'the. piece ne udesa pair of'jawsi face fijl onthe forwardjawfil; is is'hoi tenthan the? surface 63 and it terminates in a curved end sure is t he- 1- hee h r ea'l able is t hc iith d he r abettem r Le e n. r rqtally i iunp y means or th atis en? 0.

attachment 9 Cab 11ers wei ht as, which is uameq rha a the w hr r h m anisrn C and normally holding" this clamp sus; en eqa e e gsn iQ 'jrh'i d is held: in open con-. s rawer hat the rare y 9v tween ihb h' 't dition', but when hat clampj n s'fr ht clo e th thlym'r W 9;n?? %Ri kI2ilE twi l i th mea r m. the conveyor ingh dies;wheels Q13 and}! and the intermediate wheel fig teachofr Whichisequipped The wheelsfiib and; 91L are so with fingers 93. V p eedio s a t 3-2 $55 .2 permitethet passa of the kv mem rs. ii: etween them, and:thet h tlz'flZ i t the. tIiaiI lSl lieI Se center; of the. conveyor so that theihooksgfl will: pass: on each-side of-it. Theshafti ighas'aits ends journale'd in the V moi-intingsv 95 whiohare attached to the carr-iage 96:1hingedly supported-on theirame- 917-91. The lower portion of; carriage. this. secured ag-ainst the far e ndtoftheirarne by means of thesprings 98 extending between" this lower porti'ojriand j standards I3.

Shaft. 94 is driventhrough pulley 99;- onshaft I Y 32, chain 1.60, and-pulley Hil on shaft 94:"

' I prefer to utilize a stationar'ystructure H0? (Fig. '1 and Fig. 2-) whichhas as'Ianted-tQp a e provides a hute H I for; passing; to the machine the pieces to be skinned; Suitably, the piece ll? attacheda to thi i turej fimay e harm d ,,.a le 5111 1 51 1; he o l ver Bil; op os te when iniloose co ndition $1 n twos me ap rt;

for securing the rear end of chain 11 holding the clamping device C. I

Over the rear end of the conveyor structure is a plate II3 which is hingedly connected to the frame at I I4 and which serves as a table on which the meat may be placed preparatory to skinning. Suitably, this plate II3 may have the side pieces H5. The central portion of theplate may be slotted at I It, the slot being of sufiicient width to permit the passage therethrough of the hook members 46. Desirably, a flap II? may be disposed over the rear end of slot H6 and hingedly connected to the plate I I3 at I I8. When the hook members 46 turn about pulley 21 from the underside of the conveyor they may raise flap II! and then pass forwardly through the slot I I6, and the flap III may close after a hook member has passed. V

. At the forward end of the conveyor it is advantageous to employ a chute having inwardly in.- clined sides. As shown in Fig. 1 the bottom plates II9 have the inclined sides I20 which lead inwardly toward the end of the conveyor. These inclined sides Operate to complete the turning of the very large pieces of meat which may not get completely turned through the operation of the turning mechanism.

Also, it is preferable to employ a table or other receiving means at the forward end of the conveyor for receiving the meat pieces as they are discharged from the-conveyor. In the structure illustrated is included a table I40 onto which the pieces may bev discharged through the operation of wheels 90-92.

It is a further feature of the invention that the.

conveyor is mounted in inclined manner as more clearly shown in Fig. 2. By this construction the meat pieces may be handled at the rear end of the conveyor at a height which is convenient to an operator, and the meat pieces will be discharged on the table I40 of substantially this same height which is convenient for the further treatment of the meat pieces by other operators.

Operation The operator may stand to the left of the ma- 7 chine at the rear end of the conveyor and receive the meat pieces down the chute III. The meat pieces coming down chute III should previously be prepared by slicing under an edge of the skin so as to leave a small flap which can be engaged by the clamping mechanism. The operator takes one of these pieces of meat such as the piece F illustrated in Fig. 9 and lays it upon the plate I I3, over the slot I IS. The clamping mechanism C will be suspended by means of cable 19 and the counter-balancing mechanism already described. The operator may grasp the top lever arm 61 of this device and lower it to a position where the jaws BI and 62 may receive the edge portion or flap of the skin. In Fig. 9 to Fig. 11 the skin of the piece is indicated by the character I30 and the edge portion or flap by the character I3I. In placing the meatv piece on the plate II3 over the slot IIB the operator may place the shank portion of the meat, designated I32, forwardly of the machine, with the body portion I 33 rearwardly. When the clamping device has been lowered by the operator and the rearward skin flap I3I placed between the jaws 6| and 62 the operator may press downwardly on the arm 61 and with the leg 'II in engagement with the plate II3 cause the 'jaWs to become clamped about. this loose edge of the skin.

As the conveyor rotates, one of the hook members 46 will pass from the bottom of the conveyor.

about the rear end of the conveyor and pass forwardly through the slot II6. As it does so, the curved hooks 4] enga e the meat piece and form themselves about the bony structure. The points of hooks 41 will pass into the meat as indicated in Fig. 9 and will draw the clamping device C forwardly until the chain 'II becomes taut. During the initial movement of the meat piece and until the clamping device becomes tight the operator may press down on the top lever 61 with the toe Ila of lever 68 sliding along the surface The taut condition is illustrated tion I32 to a position where it points rearwardly instead of forwardly as it did in the beginning of theskinning operation. The continued forward movement of the meat piece causes the removal of the skin, the skin being turned inside out as it is removed from the central and shank portions of the meat pieces.

Fig. 11 illustrates the condition after the meat piece has been moved sufficiently forward to completely remove the skin from it. At this pointthe tension is relieved in chain TI, and the counter-balancing mechanism, including the lever 80 and weight 84, operates to suspend and open the clamping device, releasing the skin, and holding the device ready for the next operation. The skin I30 shown in Fig. 11 is in one piece and may be passed.- along the conveyor and discharged on a table II9-I20 or may be caught by the operator and removed to a separate receptacle if desired. It will be noted that the support 82 holding the cable I9 is rearward of the clamping device C when this device is in its most forward .position permitted by chain I7 so that the counter-balancing mechanism is useful in pulling back the clamp't'o' a position convenient for operation on another'meat piece.

As the'skin'ned meat piece passes forwardly on the hooks'in the condition illustrated in Fig. 11

it approaches the position indicated in dotted lines at I50 (Fig. 2) At this position the turning mechanism comes into operation and, as indicated in Fig. 8, the bar 51 engages pin 56 to turn the stem 49 and also the hooks 41 about 180 into the position indicated in dotted lines at I5I (Fig. 2). Thus turned, the shank portion which is indicated as pointing rearwardly in Fig. 11 is turned to again point forwardly. As the meat thus turned passes on about the end of the conveyor it is engaged by the fingers 93 of the wheels -92, removed from the hooks 41 and passed over wheels 9092 onto the table I 40. The hook member 46, after the meat has been discharged from it, passes on about the forward end of the conveyor and returns on the underside. As it comes to the position indicated in dotted lines at I52 (Fig. 2), the turning mechanism again comes into operation and again rotates the hooks 41 through approximately so-tnat the points of the none n arm race in the direction of movement of the ooi'weyor and are in position to engage emother pi'ece of meat after they have assed the rear "end of the corn ve or. 7

%he hook members 46 may be spaced as closely on the conveyor surface as desired. However, the *spacing should be sufficient to permit time in the normal operation 'Of the machine for the operator to place the piece or meat in position and bring down the clampingdevice c iorengagement with the edge "of the before the sho (seeding hook member comes up to engage the meat piece.

By having a pair df spaced hooks 11, the indi vidnal hooks may engage different sides of a bony 'structure such as a 501111: *sotha't the' bone which extends longitudinally of the piece extends between the hooks. This structure facilitates the turning or the piece on the hook during the removal -of the skin.

In the case of a large piece of meat such as a large ham, or in case of meat pieces not adapted for engagemen'tof ab'ony structtn'e by lihe hooks 4'1, the turning of thehookimeinbersmay not be suificient to *get the meat piece completely turned,

particularly if the meat is quite so'ft, and in such case the inclined :guide pieces 1-21) complete the the spring 98 yields to permit shaft 93 'to swing outwardly-about the hinged mounting at "91, thus permitting space through whichthe meat piece may move. If the chain Hill is not sufiiciently loose to permit this outward swing 0f the shaft the chain will -break, "hut may =be-easily replaced. Also provision is made for permitting the meat piece to pass again to "the top of *theconveyor without damaging the machine. As *the "meat piece approaches the top of the-ccnveyor it may 4 constructed which diner widely in structure whilestill including one or more or the novel principles herein set forth.

1. A method of skinning meat pieces comprising loosening the skin at one edge of the'pieoe with the piece disposed so that said edge is rearward "position, holding the loosened skin against forward movement, and moving saifl piece forwardly while permitting the piece to 3. A method of skinning apiece of meat comprising grasping and 'holding against forward movement an edge of skin at one end of said piece, grasping the meat -'piece at said 'end, and

:- sep'arating the skin and meat so grasped while turning sai'd end 'ef the meat-pi'eceaway'from'said skin edge, to thereby separate the s kin frcm'the meat "piece.

4. Amethod as in claim 3w'herein said meat piece :is :grasped about a b'one structure thereof;

REFERENCES CITED The following references are .of .record in-the raise theitable 113 about hinges W4 and pass under this table. This operation takes piace only in emergency and to'permit time *ror-stop- ,j ping the machine.

The machine described herein is claimed in applicants co-pending application Serial No. a 643,527, filed January '16, 1946. v

The foregoing detailed description describes'but a-sing'le-enibodiment of theinvention. .However, it is understood that many'embodimeiitsmay be file of this patent:

V UNITED STATES Number Name Date 77, 724 'Escherilohr May 12,1868 I 537,215 Mead .Apr. 9,, 1895 1,111,952 Cunningham Sept. 29, 191.4 1,111,953 Cunningham -rSept. 29,1914 1,265,407 Wallin 1 "May "'7, 1918 1,714,355 Englen\et:al.. May 21, 1929 1,764,425 Thomas June17,.1930 1,-77'7,'375 Merrick 'Oct. 17,1930, 1,960,643 Ixorenzen 'May 29,i193& 2,123,312 "O'Conner ';'Iu1y 12, 1938 3 2,129,234 'Perrin Sept. '6, 1938 2,261,589 Tiper 'Nov.4, :1941 l FOREIGN PATENTS Number "Country Date 667,670 Germany Decft', 1938, 

